Canned Pineapple
by Abicion
Summary: Set during the early episodes of Fresh Pretty Cure.  Hope you like it.


It was a cheerful day in Clover Town. Love Momozono, Miki Aono, and Inori Yamabuki were walking home together from their respective schools that afternoon, happily chattering about the events of their day, an upcoming rhythmic dance recital they were preparing for, and the giant interdimensional alien creature they had recently defeated. Together they were Fresh Pretty Cure; a trio of transforming superheroines responsible for protecting their city from a sinister enemy from another world. Love was Cure Peach; the leader of the group representing the power of love, Miki was Cure Berry; representing hope, and Inori was Cure Pine; representing prayers. Inori had received her powers and joined the secret task force only a few weeks earlier, and this had strengthened her friendship with her two companions and helped her overcome a few self-esteem issues she had been battling.

As the three girls continued down a quiet city road, their happy discussion was interrupted by the voice of a young man yelling toward them from a rooftop.

"Pretty Cure!"

The group collectively turned their heads and peered toward the source of the voice. The figures of two men and one woman were starring down at the three girls from the top of a building. They each sported silver hair and were uniformly clad in black. These were the three main representatives of Labyrinth, the evil force that the Cures were sworn to fight, and the speaker was the long-haired male member of the trio.

Love, Miki, and Inori each stepped back with determined expressions, and Love answered the speaker in a forceful tone.

"What do you want, Soular?"

The Labyrinth warrior replied tauntingly.

"To challenge you, of course. I suggest you prepare yourselves, otherwise there's not much stopping Westar from destroying this entire block."

The brawnier, short-haired young man standing to Soular's left stepped forward and shot a threatening glare at the three girls. In response, Love turned to her two colleagues and spoke to them.

"Looks like they're not messing around. Let's transform."

Miki and Inori nodded in agreement. All three girls reached into their school bags to retrieve their cell phone-like devices called Linkruns. Upon opening their Linkruns, each girl's school uniform dissolved into an array of sparkling light that covered her body. This energy quickly changed to the three girls' Pretty Cure costumes, and the three transformed Cures stood in place to answer their opponent's challenge.

Cure Peach's outfit was pink and white, and Love's dark blonde hair had turned to a brighter shade as her two pigtails grew into large braids. Cure Pine's outfit was mostly yellow, and Inori's short brown hair had become slightly longer and changed to wavy golden blonde. Lastly, Cure Berry's outfit had a predominantly blue color scheme, and Miki's long, dark blue hair had changed to a much brighter blue and was now kept in a single spiral braid. Berry's costume was noticeably more revealing compared to those of her two magical comrades.

With the three protectors standing their ground, Soular smirked before speaking again.

"That's more like it."

He crossed his arms and continued.

"Now, it's occurred to Labyrinth that we're in a bit of a stalement. There's three of us, and now there are three of you. We're not going to get anywhere if we keep fighting each other with equal forces, so I've designed a way to have one of you eliminated quickly."

Miki interrupted her opponent after laughing briefly.

"What are you going to use this time? An evil wig that gives everyone bad hair?"

Soular paused to stroke his chin before responding.

"No, but… that's actually a pretty interesting idea."

After thinking to himself, he briefly shook his head. When he looked back toward his enemies and spoke again, his expression suddenly became much more diabolical.

"No matter. You see, Pretty Cure, the Nakewameke you've defeated have only been a test. Now you'll have to fight… EACH OTHER!"

Soular threw his arms outward as he gloriously proclaimed his plan. The light-haired female to his right rolled her eyes as she quietly spoke to him.

"Was that really necessary?"

Soular's insane expression quickly turned to a calmer look when he peered over his shoulder and replied.

"Huh? What do you mean, Eas?"

Eas stood with her gloved arms crossed, unamused by Soular's display.

"That ridiculous speech you just made. It's embarrassing me."

Soular frowned slightly when he spoke.

"Oh, sorry. I saw it on this anime I watched a while ago and just thought it would be cool to say."

Eas simply shook her head downward and muttered under her breath.

"Moron."

Soular's attention returned to the three girls when Inori stepped forward to answer him.

"Are you kidding? There's no way you can separate us!"

The Labyrinth speaker smirked at this resolve. He replied with total confidence in his voice.

"I'm afraid it's out of your hands, Cure Pine. You see, Labyrinth has designed a way that guarantees one of you WILL be forced to turn on your group. The only problem is we only have enough resources to use it once."

Soular turned toward his two partners and spoke to them directly.

"Have you two picked your targets yet? I call Miss Pigtails."

Westar bluntly responded.

"I'll take the whore."

Eas sighed before speaking.

"Guess that leaves me with Goldilocks."

Soular grinned.

"Very well."

He looked back down toward the street, knowing one of his three enemies would soon be doomed.

"Pretty Cure! Your fates will be decided by Labyrinth's forbidden ancient ritual!"

Soular turned back to his colleagues and signaled that it was time. He gathered into a triangle with Eas and Wester, and the three disciples of Labyrinth played the most dastardly game of Rock, Paper, Scissors the human world has ever known. Soular's paper quickly trumped Westar's rock, but Eas's rock defeated the scissors Soular tried to use in the second round. Soular shrugged before he spoke again.

"Looks like you'll get your way, Eas."

The scheming woman nodded as she grinned mischievously. Soular spoke again to carefully instruct his female colleague.

"Remember to go back to Labyrinth as soon as you're done. We don't know how much control we'll actually have over her."

The three Cures watched in puzzlement while the two male members of the enemy force silently stepped into a dark portal that appeared behind them. Eas now stood alone on the rooftop as she stared down at the Pretty Cure team. She shouted down to the unwitting test subject she had chosen.

"Cure Pine, I have a present for you!"

Inori slowly stepped forward as she replied in confusion.

"What are you talking about?"

Eas opened her gloved palms toward Inori, and they quickly began glowing in an unholy purple light. A few seconds later, the Cure of Prayers suddenly clutched her chest and began groaning in pain. Love and Miki gasped in shock at this, and Love questioned her suffering colleague in concern.

"Buki, what's wrong?"

Inori winced as she tried to speak.

"I.. don't know... It... hurts..."

Her eyes widened with horror as the same dark glow that was emitting from Eas's hands suddenly began pulsating from the area she was clutching. When she lowered her hands, the glow changed to the form of a solid black gem attached to the blouse of her costume. This was one of the devices Labyrinth used to turn an animal or object into a Nakewameke.

Inori collapsed to her knees as her speech became more desperate.

"Love, Miki, get back! I… I can't control it!"

The two remaining Cures slowly stepped back as Inori cried out in pain and the dark energy generated by the stone engulfed her in a giant dome. When the energy condensed, Inori was nowhere to be seen, and in her place was an enormous, rabid beast that hunched on all fours and growled in agony. The horned monster was covered in golden fur, and on its belly was the gem that had grown from Inori's chest.

Cure Peach looked upward and shouted in rage to the person who had caused this.

"What did you do to her, Eas?"

Eas simply laughed softly and responded in a careless voice.

"I did exactly what Soular told you I was going to do. Your friend has become a Nakewameke, and now you'll have to fight her."

She smiled in evil delight before continuing.

"THIS Nakewameke, however, draws its power directly from the magical energy flowing through Cure Pine's fragile little heart. If you defeat it, your poor teammate will die."

When her grin subsided, Eas tilted her head in curiosity and questioned her enemies.

"What will you do, Pretty Cure? Will you let this beast destroy your city to keep your friend alive, or will you sacrifice her to protect everyone else?"

With this, Eas casually turned away from the battlefield and entered a portal similar to the one Soular and Westar had used moments earlier. Love and Miki were left to stare at their monstrous opponent in a complete loss for words.

Suddenly, the two Cures heard a weak, feminine voice speak to them. It was barely audible within the drooling beast's painful growls and terrified snarls.

"Ki… kill… mm… me…"

Love's hands clenched into fists and she turned her head away upon hearing this. Miki stood behind her partner and placed a hand on her shoulder while quietly speaking to support her.

"Love, I know Inori's in there, but… we have to do something. That thing could start attacking at any min-..."

Miki's words were interrupted when the angered beast suddenly lunged forward and attempted to cut the two Cures in half with its clawed front paws. The girls jumped in opposite directions to avoid this attack, and Love soon shouted her strategy to her partner.

"Okay, Miki! Let's combine our attacks!"

Miki nodded in agreement. After the two fighters stood for a few more seconds in regretful hesitation, they dashed to opposite sides of their tragic enemy. The girls raised their hands in unison and aimed their most powerful attacks at the gem grafted to the monster's chest. Cure Peach used her magical Love Sunshine ability at the same moment Cure Berry fired her Espoir Shower attack, and the two resulting rays of pink and blue light struck the Labyrinth gem in a combined assault. The dark stone quickly dissolved under this attack, and the beast let out a final howl of pain before exploding in blinding flash of yellow light.

When the flash faded, all that remained was Cure Pine's slender form sprawled face-down in the center of the street. She was motionless except for the petticoats of her miniskirt rustling slightly, and Love and Miki quickly ran to her side. The two girls knelt to the ground around her, and Love carefully rolled her onto her back and supported her in her arms before speaking to her.

"Buki! Are you okay? We're sorry!"

Inori's eyes barely opened halfway. She was breathing slowly as she fought the pain of her damaged heart gradually stopping, and she responded to Love's worries in a weak voice.

"It's not your fault, guys."

She lowered her head as if in shame.

"I guess… my prayers just weren't strong enough…"

Love's eyes widened with concern. Miki spoke while her leader silently fought with feelings of guilt.

"That's not true, Inori! Don't tell yourself that! None of us would have been able to fight off that spell Eas used on you!"

Inori looked back up when Miki's words restored her confidence. A few strands of wavy blonde hair now clung to the streams of tears that had begun rolling down her cheeks. She knew she was dying, but she had to hold on just long enough to say farewell.

"Tell Tart… I'm sorry for all those mean things I said about him… okay?"

Love's expression became even more desperate at these words. She raised her voice and began openly weeping tears of her own before she spoke.

"Hang in there, Buki! Don't worry, you'll get better and you'll be able tell him yourself!"

Inori's lips curled into a weak smile before she responded. The fact her teammates were doing their best to cheer her up even now touched her slowing heart.

"Love… Miki… I'm glad I was able to become a Pretty Cure and be friends with you…"

Her watery eyes started to close again.

"I hope… it doesn't take you too long to find a replacement for me on the dance team…"

When Inori spoke the next words, her quiet voice faded away entirely.

"Goodbye… you guys…"

With this, the fallen heroine sighed her final breath. Her bright golden eyes closed completely as her head slowly turned to the side. Her arms fell limp, causing the lofty yellow bracelets on her wrists to brush against the paved city street.

Love and Miki leaned forward and gasped at this sight. With her eyes burning from tears, Love sniffed softly before speaking.

"Bu... ki?"

She lightly rattled Inori's lifeless form in her arms.

"Buki? Come on, wake up!"

Now coming to the realization that her comrade was gone, Love threw her head back and screamed toward the sky.

"Buki!"

After this moment, the two remaining Pretty Cures reaffirmed their oath to defeat Labyrinth at any cost. Until the war for the fate of the world was over, Love would curse the name of Eas.


End file.
